Arguably cinema’s most famous voice of all time has gone silent. James Earl Jones died Monday at age 93.
For decades, the EGOT winner has left his mark on the minds and hearts of generations of moviegoers in films ranging from dramas like “The Great White Hope” and “The Hunt for Red October” to heartwarming films like “The Sandlot” and “Field of Dreams.” And of course, he will forever be known as Mufasa and Darth Vader, his voice an irreplaceable part of “The Lion King” and “Star Wars.”
On social media, Jones’ fans and peers celebrated Jones’ unparalleled career. The actor’s “Star Wars” co-star Mark Hamill — who famously played Luke Skywalker, son of Jones’ Darth Vader — wrote, simply, “#RIP dad.”
“Guyana Tragedy: The Story of Jim Jones” co-star Levar Burton wrote that “there will never be another of his particular combination of graces.” And Oscar nominee Colman Domingo celebrated the late actor as “a master of our craft.
“Thank you dear James Earl Jones for everything,” Domingo wrote. “A master of our craft. We stand on your shoulders. Rest now. You gave us your best.”
Thank you dear James Earl Jones for everything. A master of our craft. We stand on your shoulders. Rest now. You gave us your best. pic.twitter.com/vD0V7y613w
— Colman Domingo (@colmandomingo) September 9, 2024
Other fans of Jones celebrated his life and work with clips of his performances over the years, and not just his most famous ones. One viral clip came from before Jones’ broke through with “Star Wars,” appearing in the test pilot episodes of “Sesame Street” that were filmed in 1969.
Others shared what is regarded by critics to be Jones’ greatest performance in August Wilson’s 1985 play “Fences” as the hard-working but bitter garbage truck driver and former Negro League pitcher Troy Maxson. Jones won the second of three Tony Awards for his performance in the play, which was later adapted for the screen by Denzel Washington.
Baseball fans are also commemorating Jones for his remarkable impact on the game through two famous performances. In a speech quoted by countless baseball fans from “Field of Dreams,” Jones declares that baseball “has marked the times” and “represents all that was once good, and could be again.”
In “The Sandlot,” he plays Mr. Mertle, a man who is the subject of an urban myth held by the kids in town but who turns out to be a baseball guru who once played against Babe Ruth before being struck blind by an errant pitch. When he finds out that the young Scott Smalls took his father’s Babe Ruth-signed ball to keep the Sandlot game going, he famously says, “You’re not in trouble. You’re dead where you stand!”
In 1993, the same year “The Sandlot” was released, Jones also sang the national anthem at the MLB All-Star Game.
And for Disney fans, Jones will forever be remembered for “The Lion King,” most notably in the scene where Mufasa appears to Simba from beyond the grave, calling on him to return home and accept his destiny as king of the Pride Lands. One user on X recounted how that scene left such an immense impression on him, particularly after the death of his father.
